Yao Ming, Branson join to fight shark fin trade

SHANGHAI (AP) — Recently retired Chinese NBA star Yao Ming has taken the fight against eating shark fins back to his home country, where consumption of the traditional delicacy is soaring despite efforts to ban their use and trade.

Yao and British tycoon Richard Branson made an appeal Thursday in Shanghai against the consumption of shark fins to a group of 30 of China’s richest and most influential businesspeople. The event was sponsored by the conservation group Wildaid.